Rock Candy

Friday To-Do: Avett Brothers

Despite appearances, as Times' contributor Jonelle Doughty finds in her Q&A with the Avett's Bob Crawford (below), the Avett Brothers have not enjoyed a meteoric rise. Just because they took home an Emerging Artist Award at the Americana Music Awards two years ago does not mean that they were just emerging. Their recent bumps, from North Carolina independent Ramseur Records to American/Columbia, from touring clubs in a van to traveling in a giant bus to play theaters, from self-producing to working with Rick Rubin, all go back to a novel philosophy for music industry success in these blog-addled times: winning over fans one at a time, through prolific recording and touring. Friday, the band unveils new material from its forthcoming “I and Love and You” (stream it here), out on Tuesday. Like the group's previous record, it fits under the big umbrella of expansive folk rock. All the harmony, urgency and melancholic hooks are there, just with more pop melody than in the past. It should translate well to the stage. Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers, a band that I predicted last year would soon be playing big stages, opens the set with mesmerizing folk rock.